Planning Minister Paul Scully is facing early resistance from councils asked to identify areas to be rezoned for higher density.

Planning Minister Paul Scully is facing early resistance from councils asked to identify areas to be rezoned for higher density.Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

TheHerald this weekrevealed the government had decided to scrap the Greater Cities Commission after being underwhelmed with the housing targets recommended by the independent agency,with the Department of Planning and Environment given the task of formulating more ambitious targets.

The move came after months of signalling by senior members of the Minns government of its intention to push for increased housing density in the inner-city and eastern suburbs,a shift away from dumping housing targets on Sydney’s western fringes.

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But the push for increased density has received a mixed response,even among councils on the city’s western fringe.

Hills Shire Mayor Peter Gangemi accused Labor of seeking to “destroy” the distinct character of the local government area in Sydney’s north-west,while Ku-ring-gai mayor Sam Ngai said the proposal was not the “right solution”.

Warning that request could be a “trojan horse”,Gangemi passed a mayoral minute in which he said he was concerned the government wanted to build “one-size-fits-all homes that aren’t suited to family living”.

The focus on terrace houses and townhouses would “destroy the increasingly rare single-lot family home with a backyard”,he wrote,saying the Hills Shire was “one of the few local government areas in Sydney that hasn’t become dominated by duplexes and granny flats”.

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“If you can’t have these in an LGA more than 30 kilometres away from the Sydney CBD,then where can you?” Gangemi said.

Gangemi said the council valued housing diversity,but the community was not prepared to allow developers to build medium-density housing and apartments “anywhere they like.”

In minutes from Ku-ring-gai council’s meeting on Tuesday,Ngai said Scully’s instructions – finding low-density zoned areas to build townhouses – was a “shifting of the goalposts” which would have “unintended consequences”.

Parramatta Mayor Pierre Esber says Planning Minister Paul Scully’s request will be predicated on the government funding critical infrastructure.

Parramatta Mayor Pierre Esber says Planning Minister Paul Scully’s request will be predicated on the government funding critical infrastructure.Credit:Kate Geraghty

“I have concerns about what we are seeing in other Local Government Areas (LGAs) where the residents and the Council have formed a view on what can be supported within a particular area,only for the state government to override and impose greater density,” he said.

“As a Council,we should consider whether the preference for townhouses can be sympathetically accommodated;however,I do not think allowing townhouses in R2 Low Density Zones is the right solution.”

Noting the “industry-wide” shortage of town planners and specialists,along with a bottleneck for people to assess development applications,the plan may “fuel further inflation” and be difficult for the council to achieve the government’s desired rezoning on “short notice”,Ngai wrote.

City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Pierre Esber said Scully’s request would be conditional upon the state government committing to a construction timetable for completion of Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2;as well as funding for the “studies and necessary community consultation required” for the rezoning.

In response to questions from theHerald,Scully said:“We expect councils to do their part in helping deliver well-located,well-designed and well-built homes.”

“Every time a council says ‘no’ to more housing in their area it means another home is not available for young people or young families. It also means that another area must take that council’s share of housing,in addition to their own.”

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Other councils have been more receptive. TheHerald has previously revealed the government intends to use state planning powers to override councils and rezone some areas near key transport corridors in a bid to boost density.

The government hasannounced it will begin a state-led rezoning at Macquarie Park in northern Sydney despite the objections of Ryde City Council.

In Campbelltown,Mayor George Greiss invited the government to assume control of a wide-scale rezoning of the area due to “financial constraints” faced by the council.

“I believe that implementing a state-led rezoning for the Campbelltown CBD,or preferably for the area covered by the Re-imagining Campbelltown City Centre Masterplan,will be instrumental in overcoming the challenges we currently face,” he wrote in a mayoral minute this month.

“While media outlets are reporting that the government is prepared to override council opposition to dramatically increase residential housing density,this council is not only willing,but eager to work with the government to achieve the densification that benefits not just our city,but the whole state.”

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